A Certain Pleasure
by writing.running.out.of.time
Summary: There was a certain pleasure in paying for his car.


There was a certain pleasure in driving a luxury car to exclusively the supermarket, local restaurants, the bookstore, and, of course, the school. There was also a certain pleasure in paying for each month of the lease with earnings solely from neighborhood tutoring at his dinner table and publications in a few journals and anthologies. _Bet Burr can't do that_ , Alexander thought. _His kid's probably never even_ been _in a car like this_.

He pulled up against the curb, checking his email while he waited for Philip to walk out of the elementary school. _Seven new emails_. Alexander raised his eyebrows, as the only emails he ever got were from parents looking into tutoring sessions for their child – many of which he declined – or the editors and submission officers at the publications he sent his work to. Such people tended to respond very slowly, and, yes, two or three parents, maybe, but _seven_? It wasn't even _close_ enough to late enough in the day for his ego to be that large.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Alexander burst out. "There's a reason I never sign up for any accounts or anything – it clogs up my inbox. That's John's thing." He loathed the annoying, spam, and promotional emails that came every other day. Putting up with his inbox being bloated with such trash, just so he could get a tiny discount on groceries?

Philip emerged from the school building, beside a girl that appeared to be around his age. They were talking animatedly about something, and Philip seemed somewhat reluctant to cease the discussion when he saw Alexander's car. He began to wave goodbye to her, but had an idea. _Just wait a sec!_ he gestured with an upright index finger. Philip quickly bounded over to his father' car, popped open the door, and asked, "Hey, Dad! Can my friend come over for a bit?"

Alexander glanced over at the girl standing slightly awkwardly on the sidewalk, but somehow in a manner that exuded understated confidence and relaxation, as if she weren't _really_ feeling odd, out of place, or unsure. _She gets it from her father_ , Alexander thought.

"Uh, sure. Make sure her parents are okay with it, though, son," Alexander responded, thinking, _What did I just say? She's Burr's kid, why am I allowing my Philip to invite her to my home?_ at the exact same time.

"Thank you for letting me come over, Mr. Hamilton," she said. "Your car's like my dad's," she remarked.

" _Damn!"_ Alexander mentally cried. _I'll just add another kid or two to my schedule and get a better one when my lease is up._

"No problem," Alexander replied. He would never admit it to himself, much less anyone else, but he was rather fond of Theodosia. They soon arrived at the Laurens-Hamiltons' home, which was a little out of the way, but in decent driving range of all the important places. He parked the car beside a slightly smaller one; John was home, which was rather odd – he spend Wednesdays at the office. Alexander followed the children to the door – they had taken their own backpacks, thank god – and unlocked it for them. Both children boasted that they had already finished all of their homework; they instantly disappeared after greeting John: "Hey, Dad," and "Hello, Mr. Laurens." Theodosia took the whole "Philip you have two dads?!" thing in stride, surprising all three Laurens-Hamiltons.

"Maybe that Burr kid ain't so so – "

"No. Just, don't," Alexander interrupted, holding a hand up and looking pained for extra emphasis. John laughed.

"You're not even real rivals, Alex! Weren't you two _roommates_ back at Columbia?"

"Just so I could keep track of exactly how much better than him I was," Alexander instinctively responded.

"Or so you say," John countered, rolling his eyes. "Even if you really do hate Burr, which you don't, the two of you need each other in some odd, ego-satisfying way; anyway, you like his kid, Theodosia, don't even try to deny it, Alex. I've lived with you long enough to tell. You're rather fond of kids in general, you know."

Alexander spluttered, trying to deny these terrible accusations against his life's doctrine to loathe this indecisive, infuriating _being_ known as Aaron – goddamn him – Burr.

 _At least he raised that daughter of his to be a proper liberal, befitting of New York_ , Alexander begrudgingly thought of Theodosia. He'd taken a liking to her. As long as Philip didn't get _too_ close to her…

John rolled his eyes again at Alexander's progressively scowling face. _Theodosia and Philip, huh? I kinda like it – maybe when they're older_.


End file.
